Retirement may still be decades away or not long from now. Whichever the case is for you, proper planning is the key to financial comfort in your later years.
There’s also the need to supplement your retirement earnings to ensure enough income for the quality of life you want. Dividends from stocks or returns on other investments are a well-known solution.
Among our holistic financial solutions, OWLFI offers investment management in Kansas to guide individuals and families in capitalizing on this option.
If you’re just starting your journey into investing, take these tips from us on creating a risk-mitigated portfolio.
Starting early means you get more time to build a bigger nestegg, which also leads to higher interest accruals. You also get more opportunities to allocate your assets strategically and potentially save hundreds of thousands on taxes.
Popular options here include 401(k) investments and opening an Individual Retirement Account. Then, you can contribute a percentage of your income for monthly contributions into the account.
An early start is also a great idea because you’re less likely to have heavy financial burdens in your younger years. So, you might be in a position to make riskier investments that may potentially generate significant returns.
However, if you’re closer to retirement, starting early is no less important. It still gives you more time to make contributions and accrue interest.
If your focus is going to be on stocks, it’s advisable to make investments across various market categories. Taking this approach ensures that, even if some of the positions you’re holding are not performing, others in your portfolio are likely to be doing better.
When advising on investment management for our Kansas clients, we also emphasize diversifying different forms of investments. For example, you may want to hold stocks with regular dividends and long-term growth potential. At the same time, you can offset this with others that offer higher returns but with higher risk potential.
It’s also possible to diversify further with AAA-rated bonds from either corporates or the government, such as U.S Treasury bonds. This can often generate higher returns than short-term and mid-term bonds.
Taxes can significantly cut into your returns and make your investments less profitable. What many investors don’t know is that it’s possible to save on taxes because of how they allocate their assets.
Keep this in mind as you start your portfolio. You may want to make sure that you’re holding investments in a tax-deferred account. And it’s also advisable to avoid withdrawing from accounts such as an IRA, since interest becomes taxable after withdrawal.
On the whole, your aim should be to minimize your portfolio’s tax liability.
And it’s worth checking if you qualify for a Roth IRA, especially if you have limited time for retirement planning. You may be able to access federally tax-free income once you’ve held the account for five years and turned 59 or older.
To maximize savings across the board, try to also limit other expenses. Depending on your portfolio, these could be fees, commissions, or ask-bid spreads.
OWLFI’s holistic financial solutions are customizable to your individual requirements. We can tailor our financial advice to you based on the portfolio you’re ready to start and grow. Contact us today to take the first step into a more secure future.
